NEW DELHI: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday renewed its threat to ban India over the election process concerning the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), a move which could make our athletes ineligible to take part in major international events.

Even after the ban, the IOC could take a lenient view and allow the athletes to compete at the Olympics and Asian Games, but not under the Tricolour. The Indians would then be asked to compete under the Olympic flag as independent athletes.

In a strongly-worded letter to IOA's working president Vijay Malhotra, the IOC director general Christophe de Kepper said that IOC would be seeking to suspend IOA in its executive committee meeting since it failed to give the international body a guarantee that it would be holding its December 5 elections on the basis of the Olympic Charter and the IOA's constitution.

"It is hereby confirmed that a proposal for suspension of the IOA will be presented to the IOC executive board at its next meeting on December 4-5, 2012," de Kepper said in the letter, a copy of which was sent to Randhir Singh, IOC's member in India.

Incidentally, Randhir had filed his nomination for the post of IOA's president but withdrew it following IOC's threat to IOA.

IOC has banned countries in the past on the premise of violating the Olympic charter. It banned South Africa in 1964 over apartheid and Afghanistan in 1999 when the country was taken over by Taliban. In both cases, the country's athletes were not allowed to take part in the Olympics.

Kuwait, which like India was accused of government interference in the Olympic movement, reportedly amended its sports law following IOC threats.

Taking a dig at India's sports ministry and IOA, the IOC letter said that the current issue could not be resolved despite efforts from the IOC "due to the regrettable lack of cooperation from the IOA and the government authorities".

Wednesday's IOC letter has asked IOA to explain its position in writing before November 30. De Kepper also ruled out sending a delegation to India. Malhotra, in a letter on November 26, had asked IOC to send a delegation to hold discussions and oversee the elections.

Meanwhile, rattled by the development, the IOA officials on Wednesday decided to send a delegation to Lausanne to "apprise the IOC bosses" of the situation prevailing in India.

IOA is conducting its elections as per the Delhi high court orders which asked it to follow the government Sports Code as well as IOA's constitution. IOA has appointed a three-member election commission to oversee the polls. IOA officials said the IOC's stand was baffling in the light of the fact that the Sports Code has been formulated keeping the IOC charter in mind.

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